


when the day met the night

by neotericke



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, but i'm not bitter, except for one terrible decision the writers made, mainly follows canon, you know the one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 13:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6807589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neotericke/pseuds/neotericke
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beginning from the season two finale of Avatar: the Last Airbender, featuring vignettes of Zuko and Katara as they grow and grow closer together. Mainly follows the canon plot (maybe even on an episode-by-episode basis), but basically this is pure slowburn angst meant to torture one of my best friends. :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	when the day met the night

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, so I was curious to see how the last season of Avatar would have gone if Zutara was endgame. And then to torture myself and a friend, I decided to go episode by episode, watching and writing it. (my original idea was "WHAT IF ZUKO DECIDED TO BE GOOD IN BA SING SE BUT GO UNDERCOVER AS HIMSELF TO FEED THE GAANG INFORMATION FROM THE FIRE NATION" which I may still do later but for now I decided the relationship between Zuko and Katara is angstier this way)

Katara paced restlessly across the dirt floor. The gems were pretty, but she barely registered their appearance in her anger at Azula's trick. Her fingers itched to bend, to fight, but all she could do, alone in this prison, was pace.

A rumble filled the cavern, and Katara followed the source of the noise to the entrance of a tunnel above her. The tunnel she had entered through. An earth bender moved the stone blocking the entrance, but all she could see was a silhouette. 

"You've got company," sneered a member of the Dai Li, who then threw a teenage boy down the tunnel. The boy shouted with alarm, or maybe pain, and tumbled down until he landed in a crumpled heap at her feet. It was then that she was able to see the scar on his face. 

"Zuko!" she exclaimed, her initial reaction pure surprise. _Zuko._ She thought darkly, memories filling her mind. Fire prince. Hunter. Tormenter. 

Katara's features settled into a steely glare. Zuko was on his knees, looking up at her, and she couldn't help but take pleasure in seeing him in such a position. 

The light of the outside world disappeared as the earth bender moved the stone back to its place over the tunnel. They were alone.

Zuko turned his back to Katara, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Apparently, he wasn't in the mood to talk. Well, that was fine. He could shut up and listen.

"Why did they throw you in here?" she demanded. When he didn't reply, she answered for him. "Oh, wait, let me guess. It's a trap. So that when Aang shows up to help me, you can finally have him in your little Fire Nation clutches!"

Zuko glanced over his shoulder with his bad eye. He wasn't sure, but it looked like Katara's fingers were curled into claws to demonstrate said clutches. He turned away again, silent.

"You're a terrible person, you know that? Always following us, hunting the Avatar, trying to capture the world's last hope for peace!" She yelled, pacing in a tight, angry circle. When Katara got like this, trying to stop her was like trying to stop a charging moose lion.

"But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood," she spat.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Zuko finally spoke, his voice tight, turning but not quite facing her.

"I _don't?!_ How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally!" Katara's anger melted into pure grief, and she sank to the ground, hugging her knees. She couldn’t bear to look at his face and turned her back on Zuko, though maybe that was an unwise move. She couldn’t help it. She felt the tears coming, and she was still proud enough not to let him see her cry.

"The Fire Nation took my mother away from me," she said through her tears, before collapsing into soft sobs.

That struck a chord in Zuko. "I'm sorry," he said gently, and turned to fully face her for the first time. "That's something we have in common," he added in a voice so soft, Katara nearly had to strain to hear it.

Again, Katara was overcome with surprise. The son of the Fire Lord, the Prince... lost his mother to the Fire Nation too? She knew their violence ravaged the other nations, but had never stopped to consider if the Fire Nation itself was safe. She turned her head, wiping her eyes. _I guess this is a face to face conversation,_ she thought wryly. She stood, and as she approached Zuko, he rose to his feet as well.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you before," she apologized, with her hands behind her back. She could read on his face just how much his mother's loss affected him. It was like looking into a mirror. The Fire Lord was callous and cruel. It had been naive of her to think his own family would be safe from his malevolent whims.

"It doesn't matter," Zuko replied, looking away. Already ashamed at revealing something so personal. For showing emotion.

Katara felt the need to explain herself. To show him she hadn’t meant to be thoughtlessly cruel. "It's just that, for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy... It was your face."

"My face... I see," he turned away from her, one hand on his scar. His dishonor. His shame... His past, which was dead and gone.

All too late, Katara realized her blunder. "No, no, that's... that's not what I meant."

"It's okay," he replied, his voice stronger. "I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately... I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny. Even if I'll never be free of my mark."

"Maybe you could be free of it," Katara said thoughtfully and without hesitation, watching his posture shift as she said it. She didn’t know why she was warming up to Zuko. Why her thoughts of him had changed so quickly. She sensed something genuine in his words, and was touched that he would open up to her. If he could trust her, maybe she could trust him too.

"What?"

"I have healing abilities," she explained.

"It's a scar," he said as he looked away. Already disappointed from the brief rise of hope. "It can't be healed."

Katara reached under her tunic for the container she knew was there. She held it out for Zuko to see. "This is water from the spirit oasis at the North Pole. It has special properties, so I've been saving it for something important. I don't know if it would work, but... "

Zuko's emotions rolled within him. She had been saving it for something _important._ When was the last time he was important to anyone but his Uncle? Let alone important to a girl with pale blue eyes; big, soulful eyes that seemed to see inside him. He was nothing compared to her. And after all the terrible things he'd done to her... she considered him _important._

Katara stood directly in front of him, close enough to kiss. Zuko looked into her eyes and closed his own. In thought, or trusting her? She raised a hand and placed it on his scarred cheek. She was careful, gentle. She didn’t want to hurt him any more than he already had been. He didn't move.

Was this it? The end of his shame? Zuko felt a sense of wonder, and something else. Hope? The feeling of the girl’s hand on his face was doing strange things to his stomach. Being stuck in this underground cell with her was turning out to be a blessing in disguise. And when he realized how happy he was letting himself become, Zuko shut off the thing that had slipped loose inside him. And then he sighed. He reached up, placing his hand over hers, and gently removed it from his face.

"No," he said softly. "You should save it for something _truly_ important."

Katara protested weakly, but she could understand where he was coming from. They were uneasy allies for the moment, but who knew where they would be five minutes from now?

"It _seems_ like you've changed..." Katara said softly. If removing this scar could help redeem this boy, could help him on a path to being a better, happier person... she would see that as an important enough reason to use this water.

"I have. Or I was. I was in the process of changing. I was... happy."

"I saw you in the tea shop with your uncle," she admitted. "You were smiling."

"Simple, isn't it?" he laughed almost bitterly. "Finding happiness in honest work."

"Not at all," Katara shook her head and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Later, she would tell herself it was because it reminded her of comforting Sokka. "Sometimes the simplest pleasures in life are also the greatest."

A smile found its way onto Zuko's face, small and unsure. They were actually having a pleasant conversation. This 'being nice' stuff wasn't so bad. It seemed like Katara almost liked him... When he wasn't going around hunting and attacking other people, it seemed like a lot of people liked him.

If only his father was one of those people... 

A sudden blast and shower of debris jolted the two apart. It was undoubtedly an act of earth bending. Katara held her breath. The Dai Li were the obvious answer... But there were two other earth benders that she was hoping to see.

"Aang!" she said gleefully, when her hopes were realized.

He looked at her, standing near Zuko, with dopey eyes, then grinned when she ran to hug him. She wouldn’t admit it, but she had been truly worried that no one was coming for her. She hoped Aang would come for her… and she was incredibly relieved that he did. But fears were fears. They couldn’t be controlled. But that didn’t mean she had to admit to them.

Zuko watched their reunion with cautious eyes. The pipsqueak had the nerve to glare at him over Katara's shoulder. Iroh came to claim his nephew in a hug, and then it was Zuko glaring over someone's shoulder.

"Aang," Katara said, relief evident. "I knew you would come."

"Uncle, I don't understand," Zuko demanded. "What are you doing with the Avatar?" he pointed accusingly at the pipsqueak in question.

"Saving you, that's what," Aang replied in a less than friendly tone, and Iroh knew to restrain Zuko before he lunged for the boy. 

"Zuko," his uncle said, "It's time we talked." General Iroh turned to the other two, dismissing them less-than-subtly. "Go help your other friends! We'll catch up to you."

Aang bowed at the General, and sprinted off into the tunnel he'd made. Katara followed at a much slower pace. As she walked away, she couldn't help but turn back and stare at Zuko. Would he be all right? Zuko glanced back at her, his face unreadable, and she kept her eyes on him until the walls of the tunnel blocked him from her vision.

"Why, Uncle?" Zuko asked softly, hating the way his voice came out sounding like a little boy. He did not turn away from the tunnel that Katara had disappeared in. He supposed he was asking Iroh other questions that couldn't be answered. Why would a girl like Katara, a girl who was supposed to be his enemy, show him such kindness? Why would she offer such a valuable treasure to heal a banished, dishonorable, enemy prince? Why did she even care? And why did he feel compelled to follow her?

"You're not the man you used to be, Zuko," Iroh said, as if he knew every conflicting thought within his head. "You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have _ever_ been. And now, you have come to the crossroads of your destiny."

Zuko turned to look at his uncle, who continued to speak. "It's time for you to choose."

Zuko looked down, closing his eyes. Choosing was the most impossible thing he would ever have to do. Choose to hurt people to possibly earn his father's respect, maybe even love? To return to where he belonged? His country, his people? Or to choose to do the right thing, and to let himself be hurt?

"It's time for you to choose good," Iroh finished, and the moment the words left his mouth, the earth shook and huge green crystals captured him in a cage.

Zuko shouted with alarm, and shifted into a bending stance. An earth bender had been the one to attack his uncle. But it wasn't the earth bender he should be afraid of. 

Azula slid down a ledge, saying, "I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle, but Zuko. Prince Zuko. You're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?"

"Release him immediately," Zuko demanded. There was no chance he or his Uncle could safely fire bend him free. If he tried, he’d just end up burning his uncle.

"It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself."

A wisp of memory, a phrase drifted back to Zuko's mind. _Azula always lies._ But he so desperately wished she wasn’t.

"The kind of redemption she offers is not for you," Iroh said to Zuko.

"Why don't you let _him_ decide, Uncle?" Azula said in her usual haughty way. When she turned to Zuko, her face was softer than he was used to seeing it. "I need you, Zuko. I've plotted every move of this day, this glorious day in Fire Nation history, and the only way we win is together. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father's love. You will have _everything_ you want."

"Zuko. I am begging you. Look into your heart and see what it is you truly want."

Zuko looked at his uncle, then shut his eyes. Past experience warred with his present hopes and desires. He knew Azula was a liar and a manipulator. But he wanted to be loved more than he could express. He wanted to stop fighting, to stop roaming aimlessly. He wanted to go home.

"You are free to choose," said Azula. She raised a hand, and the Dai Li exited the cavern. Azula walked calmly to the tunnel Aang had made, leaving Zuko and Iroh alone.

Leaving Zuko with the most difficult decision he would ever make. He knew that to choose Azula's side would mean betraying his uncle. For some reason the old fool was siding with the Avatar now. And it would mean betraying Katara, who he had only just opened up to. Was honor, freedom, _home_ worth losing the first chance at a friend who didn't look down on him because of his scar?

***

"We've got to find Sokka and Toph," Katara yelled to Aang as they ran through the catacombs. She didn't like the anxious furrow of his brows.

There was a crackle, the smell of ozone in the air. They turned, saw blue lightning shooting towards them, and Aang raised a wall of rock just in time to shelter them from the worst of it.

Azula. She had found them. She stood at the other side of the large, open cavern, fingers smoking.

Katara wasted no time, bending a large wave from the decorative pools. She battered Azula with it, but the fire bender raised a huge plume of blue fire, evaporating the water as it hit. Katara winced, realizing the resulting cloud of smoke would hide Azula and give her an advantage.

Sure enough, Azula lept from the smoke, punching blue fireballs at Aang and Katara from midair. The two bended in tandem, raising water to shield themselves from the blows. 

Azula landed on a stone ledge, and when she didn't immediately attack, Aang pressed his advantage and shattered the rock underneath her, forcing the girl to leap down to their level. She stood in between them, aiming her hands at each. Aang and Katara stood at the ready, waiting to see what Azula would do. They were in a standoff. 

Suddenly, a huge burst of red flame shot to the empty stone floor between the three. The source was undeniable. Prince Zuko had arrived. Katara couldn't help but wonder whose side he was on. She hoped, knowing it was naive, that he had changed for the better.

Zuko slowly approached, holding his hand up and ready to bend at any moment. From Azula's glare, Katara realized that even _she_ wasn't sure what the prince would do next. Zuko returned her gaze, and turned to look at Aang. The avatar had no such uncertainty. He gasped, eyes wide, and was already taking a defensive stance when Zuko attacked.

Katara felt her jaw drop, but there was no time to be surprised or disappointed. Azula immediately turned on her with that strange blue fire.

Zuko grunted with the force behind his punches of fire. Aang deftly bent the air around him and dodged every blast. He sent a man-shaped burst of air directly at Zuko, knocking him off his feet. 

Aang continued air bending. Though Zuko's fire was meant to kill, or at least seriously maim, the Avatar was not quite ready to drop any dangerous blows. He remained defensive, fleeing out of range. 

Zuko conjured a large, powerful beam of fire, and Aang did his best to deflect it with the crystal around him. Zuko formed giant whips of fire, extensions of his arms, and sliced clean through the crystal. Aang continued to run and dodge.

Meanwhile, Katara was on the offensive. She hit Azula with a blade of water, coming so close that she cut off a bit of the other girl's hair. 

Aang swung across the ceiling, detaching a stalactite and pushing it towards the ground. The intention was not to crush Zuko but to distract him, and when the rock hit the ground, the resulting blast knocked him back.

Katara was gaining ground against Azula. She coated her entire body with water, making long whip-like arms and capturing Azula's arm and leg within them. She ripped the fire bender off her feet, nearly canceling out her bending altogether. But Zuko intervened. He shot fire at the space between them, effectively severing Katara's grip on Azula.

The princess set her sights on the Avatar, who was crawling from the wreckage of earth he created. And then it was Katara against Zuko. Fire whips against water whips.

Katara dodged his blows, getting angrier with each one. "I thought you had changed!" she yelled. No time for disappointment. She needed the anger to fuel her in this fight.

"I have changed," Zuko said, oddly calm.

 _If that's how he wants it, fine. I don't need his friendship anyway,_ Katara thought darkly. She met Zuko blow for blow, until Azula double-teamed her.

Katara abandoned the water whips for a shield protecting her body from both fire benders. She lasted a few moments, but Azula hit her with a blast so forceful, it knocked her back into a growth of crystals. Katara grunted at the impact, and everything went dark.

She was only out for a moment, coming to when Dai Li agents dropped into the chamber. Katara climbed slowly to her feet. She was surrounded, but she could surround herself with water. She didn't know how long she would last but she was determined to take down as many opponents as possible along the way. She raised tentacles of water, ready to lash out at the earth benders, when a flash of light blinded her.

She looked back at Aang. He was rising into the air, in full Avatar state. She couldn't help but smile. _This_ was how they were going to beat the fire benders. _This_ was how they were going to get out of this alive.

Suddenly, there was another flash of light. Fractured, splintered light. No, lightning. Azula hit Aang straight on, and he dropped from the air, plummeting to earth like a meteor. Tears streaming down her face, Katara gathered water around her, creating a wave to propel her to Aang. The water overtook her enemies, and she arrived just in time to catch his broken body.

She cradled the Avatar in her arms, watched Zuko and Azula walking towards her. Wondered if this was the end. But then, like so many times earlier that day, a blast of fire heralded a new arrival. But for the first time, it wasn't attacking her. General Iroh leapt from a ledge, landing in front of Katara and Aang. Facing his niece and nephew. Protecting the Avatar.

"You've got to get out of here," he said to Katara. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

While Iroh fought off the Dai Li, Katara retreated to a waterfall behind her and bended its reverse to carry her to the surface. There, it was short work finding Appa, with Toph and Sokka in tow. 

Katara gently laid Aang down. She'd felt the stillness of his chest. There was no rise and fall. If she didn't work now, he would be lost forever. The world. Lost forever.

Mentally she cursed Zuko, glad she hadn't gone through with healing him. _What a waste that would have been!_ she thought bitterly. Carefully, deliberately, she applied the water from the spirit oasis to the wound on the boy's back. It glowed, and she hoped that was a good sign.

Bending complete, Katara finally broke down. Crying, she held Aang's body close. 

"Ah," he said weakly.

The water worked. He was alive. Gasping with joy, Katara pulled away to look at his face. His eyes were even open. Tearfully, she hugged him. Thank the spirits, she hadn't lost her friend. Though they hadn't lost the Avatar, they certainly hadn't won the day.

"The Earth Kingdom has fallen," Kuei said mournfully.

***

"We've done it Zuko. It's taken 100 years, but the Fire Nation has conquered Ba Sing Se."

Zuko didn't hear a word his sister said. All he could see was Iroh's face, surrounded by the crystal the Dai Li made to imprison him. All he could see was the disappointment in his eyes. Or was it anger?

"I betrayed Uncle."

"No," Azula replied assuredly. "He betrayed _you._ "

Azula stood from her seat on the Earth King's throne. "Zuko. When you return home, Father will welcome you as a war hero."

"But I don't have the Avatar," he protested. "What if Father doesn't restore my honor?" The last three years had been about nothing but the Avatar. All the times Zuko wished to go home and his father hadn't budged. Why would he welcome him back now?

Azula placed a hand on his shoulder. "He doesn't need to, Zuko. Today, you restored your own honor."

Azula's voice was confident. Assured. Like she always was. But no matter what pretty words she spun, Zuko could not forget the look in his uncle's eyes. Zuko turned away from his sister. If he truly had done the honorable thing, why was he filled with guilt? Shouldn't he feel proud? Remembering the face of his uncle, and a pair of blue eyes, somehow Zuko felt more shameful than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry, Jamie. Except I'm not.


End file.
